U-board with thermoformed web



J. S. STELZER U-BOARD WITH THERMOFORMED WEB Filed Aug. 1, 1963 iel e77@621,

INVENTOR 5 L/Zzmes United States Patent 3,342,320 U-BOARD WITHTHERMOFORMED WEB James S. Stelzer, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignor to PeterEckrich & Sons, line, a corporation of Indiana Filed Aug. 1, 1963, Ser.No. 299,207 Claims. (Cl. 20645.34)

This application is a continuation-impart of copending application,Serial No. 232,235, filed October 22, 1962, entitled Packaging Member,now Patent No. 3,214,333.

This invention relates to packing members and packages and especiallysuch packaging members and packages for use in packaging food items.

The practice of packaging food items for storage and display has becomemore and more prevalent in recent years. Such items as sandwich meats,cheese, bacon, and the like are often packaged in plastic envelopes orsimilar containers for display of the contents through the containerwall. Such containers permit self-service marketing of many items wherean attendant was previously necessary while still permitting theconsumer to visually examine the contents of the package without directcontact with such contents prior to their purchase.

Exemplary of the package which have been put to use for packagingpurposes are the pouch-type packages which may be mounted on U-boards orother backing board or surrounding board members to give the package adegree of rigidity, and even protection. However, such packages areoften wrinkled during assembly or become wrinkled thereafter. Also theydo not stack neatly or to substantial heights without sliding from eachother. Creation of a stacked display in a minimal space becomes at leastvery diflicult if not impossible.

Further, in display of such packages such as on a refrigerated counteror within a refrigerated well, the sliding of packages over each otheras they handled by customers with resulting possible puncture can becomea problem since removal of a package from a display may permitdislodgement of an adjacent package with resulting package slidingwithin the display.

The pouch-type enveloping members usually have a earn centrally betweenthe top and bottom of this stack of products where two opposing flatwebs are joined along at least a portion of the periphery thereof. Theseam is usually horizontal and along the largest dimension of thepackage. Because of such a seam, where it is desired to package anarticle of reasonable thickness, it is impossible to secure seamportions under the end flaps of a U-board while still maintaining arelatively planar U- board, because the seam is centrally between theopposing pouch walls in the thickness dimension rather than being in theplane of one wall; and the U-board must be bent about halfway up theends of the package for securing to the envelope seam. As higher andhigher items, e.g., stacks of sandwich meat or the like, are packaged,the generally central seam portion is, of course, removed further fromthe opposing walls of the enclosure, a condition which would necessitategreater bending of the U-board; this not only tends to round the U-board bottom and promote package sliding, but it also may result inincreased tension on the junction of U- board to package under thenormal tendency of the U board to return toward a level position throughresilience. Additionally, especially in higher stacks, the use of extraU-board material, i.e., longer U-boards, for partially surrounding thepackage is wasteful. Also, differences in article size disadvantageouslyrequire different widths and lengths of preformed envelopes withincreased expense in the provision of such envelope sizes.

As a further disadvantage, the prior envelope and U- board assemblyoften requires the use of costly tough films on the bottom portion sincethe board does not adequately protect the envelope bottom web,especially adjacent side edges thereof. The extension of this web up tothe central seam exposes the bottom web to wear, puncture, etc., and theU-board is not sufficiently close to the seam to protect the seam fromflexing.

As another type of package, it has been proposed to laminate a skin-packtype package to a backing board. Where such lamination is byheat-sealing of the pack to the backing board, problems are encounteredwith respect to protection of the packaged contents from the heatsealing temperatures. Further, a large surface area is usually requiredfor the sealing of the envelope to the backing board and actually alaminate of the entire surface or substantially the entire surface maybe necessary. This, of course, necessitates the use of more adhesive.Packages which include envelopes sealed to backing boards over lessersurface areas are more easily destructible by pulling of the backingboard from the enclosing envelope. Even where laminates over the entiresurface are provided, package edges at the edges of the laminate maybecome frayed and unsightly. Also, such edges are very vulnerable to theinitiation of tears.

A general object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved packaging member or structure as herein set out. It is also anobject of this invention to overcome some of the abovementioneddisadvantages.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anew and useful package combination for edible foods such as sandwichmeats, bacon, sliced cheese, etc., which is neat in appearance, capableof neat and compact stacking for display purposes, and wherein thepackaged foodstuffs and the enveloping package are protected againstundue damage from adjacent packages or the like during transportation,storage or display. 7 Another object is to provide a package inaccordance with any of the above wherein items of any desired height,e.g., stacks of sandwich meat or the like, can be packaged with minimaladaptations for the various desired heights and without undue waste ofpackaging materials.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a new and usefulpackage which includes a particular food enveloping portion with aparticular backing portion.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a packagecombination which may be assembled while protecting the foodstuff beingpackaged from damage through the assembly operation.

As one feature of the present invention, there is provided as a packagea new and useful combination of an envelope with a U-board in which theenvelope comprises an unformed lower web and a formed upper web definingthe envelope space with the webs joined in the plane of lowest stacksurface within the envelope. In order to economize in the amount ofU-board to be employed for each package, it is desirable to decrease thepackage dimension adjacent or facing the U board and in a form of thepresent invention this is accomplished by maintaining the U-boardgenerally planar and by folding two opposing edges of the envelope underand assembling the combination with the folded under edges disposedbetween the U-board and the enveloping portion, as will be more clearlydescribed hereinbelow.

As another feature of this invention, it has been found that whenassembling the packages described in the above paragraph, it isdesirable to have means provided for maintaining the edges folded underso that the edges may be first folded and the package may be moved byhand or by machinery to place the package on the backing member withoutholding the folds by way of hand or machinery in their folded underposition.

Thus, it is still another object of this invention to provide a new anduseful package which may more readily 3 be assembled with a backingboard to provide the package combination.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the followingdescriptions and the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view of a form of package for illustration of the presentinvention;

FIGURE 2 illustrates a rigid backing member before folding to theconfiguration for use in a package such as shown in FIGURE 1',

FIGURE 3 is a view of the enveloping portion of the package of FIGURE 1from the bottom thereof with respect to its illustration in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged section through a plastic film laminate used asthe bottom wall of the plastic envelope of the package of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged section through a plastic film laminate used asa formed laminate used as the top portion of the plastic envelope of thepackage illustrated in FIGURE 1.

The present invention provides a new and useful enveloping portion and anew and useful package, advantages of which have been mentioned above.In one form of the present invention, there is provided as a packagecombination, a U-board secured to an envelope comprising a pair of websjoined together generally in the plane defining the bottom of the spacewithin the envelope, i.e., the lowest plane of the package contents. Inanother aspect, the present invention provides a new and usefulenveloping portion or package including the formed web and un formed webwith one or more edges normally in the plane of juncture of the two websfolded under and especially where the folded edge or edges comprise adeadafold. The package may be assembled with a U-board as describedabove and preferably is comprised of formed and unformed webs. In apreferred form of the invention, a particular un formed web is usedwhich will be more specifically described hereinbelow.

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in manydilIerent forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein bedescribed in detail a specific embodiment of the invention withmodifications, with the understanding that the present disclosure is tobe considered to be an exemplification of the principles of theinvention and is not intended to limit the invention to any illustratedform.

Referring first to FIGURES 1-3, there is provided a flexible envelopeand a rigid member which is securable as a backing member to theflexible envelope.

More specifically referring to FIGURES 13, there is illustrated a formof the package which includes a rigid member, i.e., cardboard U-board16, and a flexible plastic enclosure or envelope 11 which contains astack of sliced sandwich meat 12.

U-board 10, best illustrated in FIGURE 2, includes inner flaps 13 and 14which are foldable upward along fold lines 15 and 16 respectively. Flaps13 and 14 are coated on their upper surfaces with adhesive as indicatedby reference numeral 17. U-board base or intermediate por tion 19 isdefined by fold lines 15 and 16. A portion or strip of the U board base19 inside of each of fold lines 15 and 16 is also coated with adhesivematerial shown generally by reference numeral 17. Peripherally frominner flaps 14 and 13 respectively are outer flaps 22 and 23 which alsoform a part of U-board 10. Between the outer flaps 22 and 23 and theinner flaps 14 and 13 are scored fold lines 24 and 25 respectively.

Enclosure 11 in the illustrated form is a sealed enclosure provided by abase portion such as unformed web and a covering portion such as formedweb 31 interconnected around their periphery such as by a heat sealindicated generally by reference numeral 32. Other means forinterconnecting envelope portions, such as adhesives, may be used, ofcourse, in lieu of the heat seal or a continuous formed envelope may beprovided. Opposite ends of enclosure 11, including ends of uniformed web30 and formed web 31 and the peripheral heat seal between the unformedand formed webs, are sandwiched between flaps 13 and 14 and the adjacentinterior portions of U-board 10 and are secured in place between theflaps by the adhcsive shown generally at reference numeral 17, holdingboth top and bottom surfaces of the envelope. Such securing of the endof the envelope between portions of the U-board eliminates the necessityof greater areas of adherence between the surfaces of web 30 of envelope11 and the surface of U-board 10. Also, the flaps 13 and 14 in thefinished package provide protection dor the heat sealed edges of webs3t) and 31 which, when exposed, provide sites more vulnerable to frayingand tearing during handling. The outer flaps 22 and 23 are upstanding inthe package combination and serve to protect against puncture of theenvelope walls by corners or edges of adjacent packages or the like.Flaps 22 and 2-3 also serve to shield the package contents from heat ofa heat sealing operation if the package is assembled by heat sealing theenvelope to the U-board and flaps through adhesive areas 17. The securedends of both unformed web 30 and formed web 31, i.e., the end edges ofenvelope 11 are spaced slightly inwardly from the folded fold lines 15and 16 which constitute opposing ends of the total package. The othertwo edges or lateral edges indicated generally at 33 and 34 of envelope11 are folded under between envelope 11 and the intermediate portion 19of U-board 10.

With respect to the construction of the envelope, any of the usualflexible packaging material may be used for either the base unformedportion and/or the covering formed portion. Examples of such suitablepackaging materials are cellophane, polyethylene film, Mylar film, aluminum foil, paper, etc., which may be coated, if desired, with saran orother substances. Where it is desired to enclose the envelope by heatsealing, such readily heat sealable materials as polyethylene film arepreferred. The usable packaging materials afford a wide range ofapplications wherein one or more portions of the envelope may betransparent or opaque as desired or may be colored or printed orotherwise marked. Laminated layers of different materials may alsoadvantageously be used, e.'g., containing printed material, primes,colored inks, etc. between laminated layers. It is preferred that boththe cov ering portion and the base portion have very low oxygen andwater vapor permeability rates and have good durabil ity and have goodmachine workability.

As used herein, the term unformed we refers to a Web or material whichis of a flat sheet-like structure while the term formed web is a web ofmaterial which has been deformed by stretching or other pressure toprovide a pouch suitable for enclosing by peripheral bonding to anunformed web. The formed web may be formed separately or may be formedover the article to be packaged. Methods for forming such formed websare well known.

As a more specific example of an envelope, the enclosure 11 of FIGURES 1and 3 includes a base portion which is an unformed web 30 preferablyincluding a vapor barrier material and a covering portion which is aformed web 31, preferably thermoplastic. The unformed web 30 and formedweb 31 are peripherally heat sealed at 32. The illustrated unformed web(FIGURE 4) is a laminate of aluminum foil 37 between a transparentcellophane film 38 and an opaque pigmented, e.'g., White or yellow,flexible polyethylene film 39. Adhesive 40 is provided between foil 37and cellophane 38 in a lami nate and adhesive 41 is, in like manner,provided between foil 37 and polyethylene film 39. Formed web 31 (FIGURE 5) includes a Mylar (a highly durable transparent film ofpolyethylene-terephthalate resin) or nylon film 42 having a sarancoating 43. The coated surface of Mylar film 42 is laminated to onesurface of a transparent polyethylene film 44 by adhesive 45. Thus,unformed web 30' is opaque and formed web 31 is a transparent web sothat the contents of enclosure 30 may be viewed from the exterior. Theother surface of film 44 faces a surface of film 39 for heat sealing orotherwise bonding webs 30 and 31 together peripherally of the enclosureformed thereby.

In another advantageous combination of formed and unformed web in theenvelope member, the formed web may have a saran-coated formed orformable plastic film and the unformed web may be polyethylene coatedpaper which is in turn coated with saran. The two surfaces of the webswhich bear the saran coating are heat-sealed to each other to form theenvelope and in each instance the saran coating may be an emulsion ofsaran which has been modified to improve the saran-to-saran heat sealproperties. This structure is advantageous in that it employs lesscostly materials, eliminating the aluminum foil and the film thicknessof polyethylene while still providing a vapor barrier surrounding thepackaged product. Because the saran is disposed to the interior of thepackage on both webs, it is unnecessary to apply a polyethylene film tothe saran coated surface to protect the surface from scratching. Morespecifically, the formed web may be saran-coated Mylar and the unformedweb may be Thilmany Paper Co. polyethylene coated paper PV-ZC (about 30#per ream), with a 15 coating of emulsion saran deposited on one surfacethereof.

Further, the particular arrangement of laminate layers in the unformedweb as illustrated in FIGURE 4 is exemplary of an advantageous form ofsuch web wherein a transparent layer is provided on the outer surface ofthe metal foil layer and an opaque layer is provided on the innersurface. Thus, when the package is opened by the consumer, the presenceof the protective metal foil, considered generally to be a good vaporbarrier and good food packaging material, may be observed by the consumer from the bottom of the envelope while the opaque ness of the layerbetween the metal foil and packaged foodstuff assures the consumer thatthe metal foil has not been in direct contact with the packaged food.

As has been seen from the illustrated form exemplifying the presentinvention, there has been provided a package useful in containing anarticle. The package includes an enclosing member having a generallyflat bottom and opposing ends generally in the plane of the flat bottom.A rigid backing member is secured to the flat bottom of the envelopingportion and end flaps on the rigid backing member are folded over uponthe upper faces of the opposing ends of the enclosing member and aresecured to such opposing ends. The enclosing member may be constructedof an unformed web corresponding to the flat bottom and a formed webextending over the article peripherally thereof and peripherally heatsealed to the unformed web. The peripherally heat sealed portion formsthe opposing ends of the enveloping member which are secured between theflaps and backing member.

An advantageous enveloping member has also been provided constructed ofthe formed web peripherally sealed or secured to the unformed web withopposing heat sealed edges, providing an enclosure for the packagedarticle. In the advantageous package form, opposing heat sealed edgesare folded under beneath the envelope member and against the unformedweb forming the bottom of the enveloping member, the folded underportions being at about the lateral limits of the article containedwithin the package. Although the folded under edges could be secured tothe unformed web on the bottom of the package, against the naturalresiliency of the webs, by means of adhesives or permanently settingthis material as by the application of temperatures and/ or pressure toexceed the limit of resiliency of the webs and form a crease, it ispreferred that the unformed web include a material having dead-foldcharacteristics. Thus, the unformed web may be a generally non-resilientlaminate including a metal foil such as aluminum foil, paper or the likeas a layer of the laminate and the non-resiliency of the unformed web issufficient to overcome any resiliency of the formed web or laminate offormed and unformed web in the peripherally secured or sealed area,i.e., along the fold line for the folded under portion.

In the advantageous form of the envelope, the folded under portions aresecured, i.e., by dead-fold or by adhesives or the like, against thebottom of the package as described. This advantageous form of envelopepermits more convenient assembly of the envelope with a backing memberand preferably with a U-board. Accordingly, the article to be packagedis placed between the formed and unformed webs and the webs areperipherally secured to form the enveloping enclosure. Opposing edges ofthe envelope are then folded under and the package is thereafterconveyed to be placed upon the backing member. The securing of thefolded under edges eliminates the necessity for providing equipment ormanual operation for holding the folded edges against the envelopebottom against the usual normal tendency to spring away from foldedposition. Thus, for example, the envelope can be folded, placed on asurface, and readily removed from the surface by grasping the lateralportions thereof and lifted and placed on a U-board without holding theedges in folded under position. In the preferred form of packageincluding the dead-fold material in one of the webs, preferably theunformed web, the step of applying adhesives or some other means such aspermanently setting or the like to retain the folded under portionsagainst the package bottom, is eliminated.

After placing the enveloping portion on the U-board flaps 13 and 14- arefolded over the envelope ends and adhesive 17 may be used to secure theenvelope ends between the flaps and backing member. In a preferredassembly, adhesive 17 is a heat seal adhesive and the heat for thesealing operation is applied from the outer surfaces of flaps 13 and 14and portion 19. In such assembly, upstanding flaps 22 and 23advantageously protect the thermoplastic web 31 and package contentsfrom the heat of sealing. Flaps 22 and 23- in the finished package alsoserve as protective shields for the envelope against puncture. Flaps 13,14, 22 and/ or 2-3 in the finished package may provide a printed orprintable surface viewable from the top of the package. The printedmaterial on the flaps may identify the contents, source, price, etc., asdesired. 7

More particularly, referring to FIGURE 4, aluminum foil or othermaterial capable of maintaining a dead-fold is included within the Webso that the sides 33 and 34 of the enclosure 11 which are not secured bythe flaps of the U-board may be folded under as shown in FIGURE 3. Thealuminum foil in unformed web 30 is sufficient to overcome the memory orresiliency of the other plastic materials in both the unformed web andthe formed web and thereby maintains the fold as a dead-fold Without thenecessity of applying adhesives. The dead-fold may advantageously beused to maintain a fold in the envelope, where and if desired, whileassembling the envelope and rigid member. However, in other embodimentsof the invention such adhesives can be used in lieu of or in addition tothe dead-fold. Additionally, other areas of the upper surface of U-board10 may be coated with adhesive materials to secure unformed web 30 tothe surface of U-board 10, although such adhesives are more usuallyunnecessary.

It will be apparent that the same size and configuration of U-board andunformed web can be used in a variety of package sizes having differentenclosure heights. Thus, for example, sandwich meat slices can bepackaged in any stack height using the same U-boards and unformed webs.Only the configuration of the formed web is changed to provide thedifferences in enclosure height for different height stacks or the like.The U-board may be maintained relatively fiat regardless of the packageheight and may be secured to the enveloping portion generally in theplane of the bottom of the enclosure.

The rigid member, e.g., U-board, and envelope may be supplied separatelyor partially assembled by a packaging material source to a packager andthe packager may include the substance to be packaged within theenvelope or between films from which the envelope is to be constructedand thereafter assemble or finish assembling the package. Thus, thepresent invention also provides an envelope or enclosure member, whichmay be a partially formed or partially closed envelope or one or morefilms adapted to be assemebled to form an envelope, and a rigid member,the envelope member and rigid member being adapted to be assembled witheach other to form a package e.g., as described hereinabove.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there has been provided a usefulpackage and packaging method, as well as an enveloping member for use inthe same. The enveloping member may be readily and convenientlyassembled with a backing member and because of the folded underperipheral portions requires less width in the backing member than mayotherwise be necessary. The enveloping member in an assembled packagewith a U-board has its heat sealed web ends protected by the U-boardflaps; also, the folded under lateral portions are disposed between thebacking member and U-board, eliminating or greatly decreasing theirexposure for possible rupture which can occur if such lateral edges areextended outward or if lapped over to the bottom surface of the backingmember. Further, the combination of formed and unformed webs and U-boardbacking member, with the backing member and unformed web beingrelatively flat and being secured by its flaps over the envelope ends inapproximately the plane of the bottom of the enclosing member, providesa neat appearing, unwrinkled and readily stackable package especiallywhere the packaged article itself has an upper surface lending tostacking, e.g., as in sliced sandwich meat, cheese, aligned sausages,sliced bacon and like foodstuffs. Additionally, stacks of slicedsandwich meat, cheese or the like or even very tall articles can bepackaged in the enveloping enclosure which can then be associated with aU-board as hereinabove described without changing the generally planarconfiguration of the U-board but while still using the U-board flaps toprotect the package end.

I claim:

1. A package containing an article, which package comprises a stiffbacking member having opposing end flaps, an unformed web disposed onsaid backing member, and a formed web peripherally secured to saidunformed web to define an enclosure enclosing said article, saidperipherally secured portions of said webs being normally generally inthe plane of said unformed web, said end flaps being folded overopposing ends of said formed and unformed webs at the peripherally heatsealed portions thereof and securing the opposing peripherally sealedends between said flaps and backing member, opposing peripherallysecured edges of said formed and unformed webs being folded underbetween and against said unformed web and backing member with the endsof said folded under portions being secured between said flaps and saidbacking member.

2. A package including an article enclosed in a packaging envelope whichcomprises a generally flat flexible unformed web and a flexibletransparent formed thermoplastic film, said unformed web providing agenerally flat bottom surface of said envelope for supporting saidarticle and comprising a laminate of a layer of metal foil be tween alayer of opaque thermoplastic film and a layer of transparentthermoplastic film, the opaque thermoplastic film facing andperipherally heat sealed to said formed film to form an enclosure forsaid article, said formed film being of a configuration in generalconformity with the top and lateral surfaces of the article.

3. A package for enclosing foodstuffs and the like at least one wall ofwhich package comprises a layer of aluminum foil, a layer of transparentplastic film laminated to the exterior surface of said aluminum foilwhereby said aluminum foil is visible from the exterior of the packageand a layer of non-transparent plastic film laminated to the interiorsurface of said aluminum foil whereby said aluminum foil is not visiblefrom the interior of said package.

4. A packaging combination comprising a stiff member, a first stiff flapon one edge of said stiff member, a first fold line between said stiffmember and said first stiff flap, a second stiff flap on an opposingedge of said stiff member, a second fold line between said second stiffflap and said stiff member, an envelope comprising a formedthermoplastic film of readily foldable gauge and an unformedthermoplastic web of readily foldable gauge joined at a sealed edgedefining an enclosure and including first and second flange portionsspaced from each other generally across the envelope, said unformed weband flange portions defining a generally flat surface of said envelope,said envelope being positioned upon said stiff member with the unformedweb portion lying upon and backed by said stiff member, said flaps beingfolded upon said sealed edge, and means securing the envelope betweenthe flaps and stiff member.

5. A packaging combination comprising an envelope including a formedthermoplastic film of readily foldable gauge and an unformedthermoplastic web of readily foldable gauge joined at a sealed edgedefining an enclosure and including first and second flange portionsspaced from each other generally across the envelope, said unformed weband flange portions being generally coplanar, a stiff backing memberbacking said flange portions and the unformed web extendingtherebetween, stiff flap means and fold-line means integral with saidbacking member, said flap means being folded and overlying the flangeportions of the envelope, and means securing said flange portionsbetween said flap means and backing member.

6. A package containing an article comprising a substantiallywrinkle-free, flexible, transparent, thermally formed film ofthermoplastic material, an unformed web of thermoplastic material, arectangular line of heat seal joining said film and web facially in theform of an enclosing envelope, said unformed web defining a flexibleflat side of the enclosing envelope, a flexible peripheral flangeprojecting outward from the envelope at the heat seal defined by the endedges of said film and web, a straight fold in said flange foldingopposite edges of the envelope against the flat side of the envelope, astiif backing board secured to said flat side and the folded envelopeedges and securing the folded edges against the flat side, said backingboard having flaps at each end extending over and enclosing andshielding the envelope edges at the unfolded portions of said flange andat the ends of the folded portions of said flange, and means securingthe backing board flaps to the formed film face of the unfolded portionsof said flange.

7. A package containing an article, which package comprises (=1) awrinkle-free, transparent, flexible, readily foldable thermoplastic filmcover formed to a shape closely receiving the article and havingsuflicient resiliency to resist dead-folding, and (2) a readily foldableunformed base as a generally flat side of the package and comprising (i)a thermoplastic film layer peripherally heat sealed to the formed filmand (ii) a layer of pliable nonresilient material sufficient to overcomethe resilience of both the cover and base, whereby the peripherallysealed portions :of said cover and base can be dead-folded againstadjacent portions of said envelope and will remain in foldeddisposition.

S. The package of claim 7 wherein said peripherally heat sealed portiondefines a peripheral flange extending said formed film and unformed baseoutward from the edge of the package generally in the extended plane ofsaid generally flat unformed base.

9. The package of claim 8 including a dead-fold along each of twoopposing sides of said package at the juncture of said flange with theremainder of the package.

10. A package including an article enclosed in the packaging envelope ofclaim 2, a backing member, and means securing said backing member tosaid unformed web.

11. The package of claim 3 including a backing member and means securingsaid backing member to said transparent film.

12. The packaging combination of claim 5 wherein said sealed edgeincludes third and fourth flange portions spaced from each other acrossthe package and connecting said first and second flange portions at theends thereof, said third and fourth flange portions being folded underagainst the unformed thermoplastic film.

13. A packaging combination comprising an envelope including athermoplastic base web of readily foldable gauge and a thermoplasticcover web of readily foldable gauge joined at a heat sealed edgedefining an enclosure and including first and second flange portionsspaced from each other generally across the envelope, said base web andflange portions being generally co-planar, a stiff backing memberbacking said flange portions and said base web extending therebetween,stiff flap means and fold line means integral with said backing member,said flap means being folded and overlying the flange portions of theenvelope with the envelope edge extending along the fold line means, andmeans securing said flange portions between said flap means and backingmember.

14. A package containing an article, which package 3 comprises a stiffbacking member having opposing end flaps, a first envelope web disposedon said backing member, a second envelope web peripherally secured tosaid first Web to define an enclosure enclosing said article, saidperipherally secured portions of said Webs being normally generally inthe plane of said first web, said end flaps being folded over opposingends of said peripherally sealed webs at the peripherally sealedportions thereof and securing the opposing peripheral ends of theenvelope between said flaps and backing member.

15. The packaging combination of claim 4 including an additional flapupstanding from each of said end flaps for protecting the opposing endWalls of the envelope.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,533,554 12/1950 Byerly.

2,621,129 12/1952 Ramsbottorn et a1. 20646 X 2,679,969 6/1954 Richter2293.5 2,802,569 8/1957 Massey 20678 2,888,787 6/1959 Cloud 53-222,892,538 6/1959 Middleton 20778 3,011,629 12/1961 Rohdin 20645.313,029,149 4/1962 DeLOng.

3,061,091 10/1962 Wichman 20678 3,104,172 9/1963 Wizelman 20678 X3,104,759 9/1963' Hansen 20678 3,183,100 5/1965 Bonini 99171 3,216,83211/1965 King 99-171 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,209,082 9/ 1959 France.

831,550 3/1960 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Protective Packing of Frozen Foods, RefrigeratingEngineering, February 1954, pp. 48, copy found in 99- 171.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. M. L. RICE, Examiner.

14. A PACKAGE CONTAINING AN ARTICLE, WHICH PACKAGE COMPRISES A STIFFBACKING MEMBER HAVING OPPOSING END FLAPS, A FIRST ENVELOPE WEB DISPOSEDON SAID BACKING MEMBER, A SECOND ENVELOPE WEB PERIPHERALLY SECURED TOSAID FIRST WEB TO DEFINE AN ENCLOSURE ENCLOSING SAID ARTICLE, SAIDPERIPHERALLY SECURED PORTIONS OF SAID WEBS BEING NOR-